"Morning Alfred." Bruce said as he entered the kitchen.

Alfred was drying a pot, as he was looking out the window. "Good morning sir. Care to see the morning entertainment?"

Bruce cocked his head at this, and walked toward the window. Outside he spotted Damian, dashing through the garden, and leaping up and over the tall topiaries slicing them through.

"I suppose I should cancel the gardener for the next month."

Bruce smiled at this, as he brought his attention back to the tea kettle. He scowled at the empty coffee pot.

"Master Tim took the last cup sir. Shall I make some more?"

Bruce waved him off. "Tea should be fine. Thank you."

A sudden loud rumble of the window behind them got their attention. Both of them looked over, and found Damian launching into a backward flip and cut the top off the tree behind him. They continued to watch in silence the carnage of the garden.

"What the hell is going on here?!" Questioned Tim as he walked in behind them.

"Damian's training routine. He's been at it since 5 am." Alfred replied as he returned to cleaning.

Tim walked up to Bruce's side, holding his mostly full cup of coffee. "Damn."

Bruce looked down at his cup of tea, and thought about all the meetings he had today. So he swapped cups with Tim, and walked toward the office.

"Hey!"

"I'll be at the office all day. Make sure Damian doesn't start a war Alfred." Bruce said without looking back.

Tim rolled his eyes, and sipped at the tea. He scrunched his nose at the bitter black tea. Turning round he reached for the sugar bowl, and dropped in three cubes.

"You best get ready for school master Tim."

"Yeah… Bleh.." He put down the cup. "I can never get used to this stuff."

Marti busted through the double doors. "Tim! Come on! Here!" She tossed his jacket, vest, and tie at him. "I'm not going to be late for gymnastics practice again."

"Not my fault you're stupid team has to meet at the butt crack of dawn."

"Just come on!" She grabbed a piece of toast from the toaster, and sipped at Tim's discarded tea. "Did dad already take off?"

"Not yet." Bruce entered the kitchen to return his empty mug. "You want a ride to school?"

"No, I have a study group thing after school." Marti said, before she took another bite of her toast.

"We have to do what?" Tim whined as he fumbled with his tie.

Marti shot him the signature Wayne glare, and Tim just rolled his eyes. She then handed the rest of her toast over to her dad. "Okay… Love you dad." Then kissed him on the cheek, and dragged Tim out of the room.

During this farewell, Damian had walked in through the back door. He cleared his throat as the double doors closed. "Good morning father. Alfred."

Bruce nearly choked on his bite of toast at this sudden greeting. Turning round he watched as Damian passed him by, and poured himself a cup of tea.

There was a long awkward silence as they all stood around in the kitchen. Alfred ducked into the pantry, leaving the father son alone. Bruce finished off the last bite of toast, and took a sip of his discarded tea from earlier. "There is a full gym upstairs, and you can train in the batcave below as well. I believe those will offer more of a challenge to you than the garden."

"I have always trained out in the elements father."

Bruce squinted his eyes at being called 'father.' He was used to the Marti's kind endearment 'dad,' and on the occasion when she was cross, 'old man.' But being called father seemed cold. He physically shook his head, to clear his mind. "Well, for now perhaps give it a try. We do things different here. We live two separate lives here Damian. We train in secret."

"I can respect that. You never want your enemy to find your weaknesses."

Bruce rubbed his brow at this. From what little interactions they have had, the boy never seemed to turn off from being a bloodthirsty tactician. "Yes… Well I have to go to work. Alfred will be here for you. Everyone should be back before dinner."

"Very well father."

Bruce held back the chills from this, and waved goodbye as he made a beeline for the door.

Alfred remained in the back pantry on purpose. So Damian put down his glass and left the kitchen. He walked down the long hall to the main front doors. He looked over the many paintings and priceless vases on pedestals. Further down the hall were portraits of the family. But his attention was stuck on a large portrait at the end of the hall. It was of his father and his sister together. He stared at them for a long time. Seeing them together irritated him.